Should restaurant tip also cover wine tab?

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, March 11, 2004

A diner wrote us asking if she should tip on the wine portion of the bill.

A friend, described as a generous tipper, had told her it wasn't necessary. But she still wasn't sure.

We asked a couple of industry experts what they thought.

"I always tip on the wine portion of the bill," says Michael Riccetti, author of Houston: Dining on the Cheap (Tempus Fugit, $17.95). "But then again, I do not purchase expensive bottles of wine. ... For expensive and very expensive wines, I am not sure."

A $500 bottle of wine will end up costing $600 once you add a 20 percent tip for good service. "Bringing the Reidel glasses does not really seem to warrant $100," he says.

There are people who tip 20 percent when buying high-dollar wines, "but they're a small minority," Piatto Ristorante manager Fred Lutz says.

Lutz explains that restaurants often require servers to pay a percentage of the guest's check in the form of "tip share," which goes to employees not directly tipped by the guests, including busboys and hosts. An industry standard for tip share is 3 percent. So if a guest orders a $100 bottle of wine, the server owes $3 in tip share.

"To offset this, there are some people who tip 18 to 20 percent on food and 5 percent on wine," Lutz says.

Tell us what you're thinking. Should you tip on the wine portion of the bill? E-mail us at dine.features@chron.com.

Restaurant openings

· Pico's at 9401 Katy Freeway is open for lunch and dinner and serving Oaxacan tamales and chilorio (braised pork). This is the second location for restaurateur Arnaldo Richards, whose original is on Bellaire Boulevard.

· Camille's Sidewalk Cafe has opened in the downtown tunnel at the Reliant Building, 1000 Milam. The sandwich-and-wrap shop also has a location on Lakeside Plaza Drive in Sugar Land.

Downtown update

Except for a brief hiatus as a Super Bowl T-shirt shop, 1001 Texas has remained empty since chef Arturo Boada closed his chrome-fitted retro Century Diner. That changed recently when a sign was posted to announce the soon-to-open Café Complique.

There's action across the street at the Rice Lofts, as well. A sushi bar will open in the space once occupied by Liberty Noodles. And next door, a coffee shop is set to replace the shuttered Jamba Juice.

Wine event

· Kubo's Sushi Bar and Grill, 2414 University Blvd., will host a sake lecture and tasting at 6:30 p.m. March 25. The cost is $30 per person and requires a $15 nonrefundable deposit. Space is limited to 20 people. Call 713-528-7878.

· Here's a new twist on the wine dinner. Cigar connoisseur Jeffrey Stone and St. Regis executive chef Toby Joseph will pair food and wines with cigars at 7 p.m. March 25 at the St. Regis, 1919 Briar Oaks. The cost is $75. Call 713-403-2624.